Employees at The Public Barber on Wilson Avenue are back at work just one day after being burglarized.
“Watching it you know it feels like a violation,” said owner Michael Stejskal. “I was mostly upset for my barbers because, like you said, that’s their livelihood.
The owner said burglars got in through the back door early Tuesday morning, ransacked the barber stations and got away with $4,000 dollars’ worth of tools.
“Just somebody coming into your personal space and you know not being able to do anything about it—it’s not a good feeling, makes you sick to your stomach,” he said. “I also feel bad for whatever situation these people are in that feel the need you know to break in.”
Several other businesses were also targeted in the Uptown neighborhood in recent days, including a Subway near Broadway and Montrose.
“I’ve been here in Chicago almost 30 years,” said owner Angel Zumba. “Like 24 years ago it was okay, but now it’s very very dangerous.”
Surveillance video shared with NBC 5 shows the crooks smashing their way in and taking off with the cash register the night before. The Subway owner from Ecuador says his business has been robbed or broken into at least six times over the years.
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“The employees in the nighttime, they don’t want to work anymore. They quit,” he said.
The owner said the suspects then ran across the street kicking through the glass door at the Tattoo Factory. Surveillance video shows them jumping the counter, going through the backroom before driving off with an iPad.
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“So when it’s all said and done, I’m out $4,000 dollars,” said Tattoo Factory owner Paul Collurafici. “They got nothing does it make any sense?”
According to Chicago police, burglaries are up so far this year in the 19th district. The owners in Uptown telling NBC 5 they’re just trying to survive.
“Obviously we won’t let this stop us from pushing through the rest of the holiday season,” said Stejskal. “Support your local small businesses and your local barber.”
Chicago police have not said if these break ins are connected. Area One detectives are still investigating.
